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In mathematics, the binary logarithm (log 2 n) is the power to which the number 2 must be raised to obtain the value n. That is, for any real number x, = =. For example, the binary logarithm of 1 is 0, the binary logarithm of 2 is 1, the binary logarithm of 4 is 2, and the binary logarithm of 32 is 5.
Logarithms can be used to make calculations easier. For example, two numbers can be multiplied just by using a logarithm table and adding. These are often known as logarithmic properties, which are documented in the table below. [2] The first three operations below assume that x = b c and/or y = b d, so that log b (x) = c and log b (y) = d.
The graph of the logarithm base 2 crosses the x-axis at x = 1 and passes through the points (2, 1), (4, 2), and (8, 3), depicting, e.g., log 2 (8) = 3 and 2 3 = 8. The graph gets arbitrarily close to the y-axis, but does not meet it. Addition, multiplication, and exponentiation are three of the most fundamental arithmetic operations.
In mathematics, change of base can mean any of several things: . Changing numeral bases, such as converting from base 2 to base 10 ().This is known as base conversion.; The logarithmic change-of-base formula, one of the logarithmic identities used frequently in algebra and calculus.
The base-2 numeral system is a positional notation with a radix of 2.Each digit is referred to as bit, or binary digit.Because of its straightforward implementation in digital electronic circuitry using logic gates, the binary system is used by almost all modern computers and computer-based devices, as a preferred system of use, over various other human techniques of communication, because of ...
The natural logarithm of x is generally written as ln x, log e x, or sometimes, if the base e is implicit, simply log x. [2] [3] Parentheses are sometimes added for clarity, giving ln(x), log e (x), or log(x). This is done particularly when the argument to the logarithm is not a single symbol, so as to prevent ambiguity.
Logarithmic number systems have been independently invented and published at least three times as an alternative to fixed-point and floating-point number systems. [1] Nicholas Kingsbury and Peter Rayner introduced "logarithmic arithmetic" for digital signal processing (DSP) in 1971. [2]
The formula was first discovered by Abraham de Moivre [2] in the form ! [] +. De Moivre gave an approximate rational-number expression for the natural logarithm of the constant. Stirling's contribution consisted of showing that the constant is precisely 2 π {\displaystyle {\sqrt {2\pi }}} .